Sound and Fury: Sherlock Holmes and the Saline Solution

American comedy trio take on Victorian London

With the foreboding spectre of a Guy Ritchie-directed Sherlock Holmes film being released later this year, American comedy trio Sound and Fury’s new show (Sherlock Holmes and the Saline Solution) is a welcome DIY send-up of literature’s most famous detective. The plot itself is loosely developed but contains all the right elements: the murdered body of a rich London man, a damsel in distress, an encounter with opium and, finally, some sense of resolution.

The effects are a delightfully silly mix of the smutty and the literary, making this a worthy successor to the group’s 2008 hit Cyranose. But be warned; this might be a murder mystery of sorts but the Victorian whodunit takes a backseat to the performers’ effortless charm. Under their ruthlessly energetic control, Shelby Bond’s Sherlock is a bumbling figure, guided only by Richard Maritzer’s slightly less clueless Watson, while Vinny Cardinale occupies nearly every peripheral part with tireless animation. Moreover, the trio’s forays into the audience maintain a spontaneous atmosphere throughout and their infectious enthusiasm makes this one of the cheeriest comedies you’re likely to see this month.